Preparation of silica coatings with continuously adjustable refractive indices and wettability properties sol-gel method.

Silica coatings with continuously adjustable refractive indices and wettability properties were prepared through a sol-gel base-catalyzed process. Adjustment of the molar ratio of water (HO) to tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) was utilized to change the hydrolysis degree of the precursors, and hence change the morphology of the silica particles. With the increase in the HO/TEOS molar ratio, the morphology of the silica particles changed from a linear net-work structure to a bead-like structure and then to a granular particle structure.